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English priest, pastor and Bible scholar
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849) was a priest, pastor and
Douay Bible with extended commentary, originally published in 1811, became the most popular English Catholic Bible of the 19th century on both sides of the Atlantic. It remains in print and is still regarded for its apologetic
value.
Haydock's eventful early years included a narrow scrape with the
Catholic Emancipation. He would go on to serve poor Catholic missions in rural England
.
Early years
George Leo Haydock was born on 11 April 1774 in
Daniel O’Connell
.
George Haydock's studies were interrupted in 1793, when the French Republic declared war on England and occupied the English College. On 5 August that year, just before the students were expelled and forced into house arrest at a nearby country house, the 19-year-old George Haydock managed a harrowing escape back to England in the company of his brother and fellow student, Thomas. Learning from the mistakes of previous escapees, they were able to sneak out of the town via a canal, carrying a fishing rod so they would appear to be on an innocent fishing trip. They went north, walking much of the way until they reached Ostend, whence they crossed to England.
St. Edmund's College, Ware, Old Hall Green in Hertfordshire, Haydock was able in 1796 to resume his studies in earnest at a seminary established at Crook Hall, near Consett in County Durham (not to be confused with present-day Crook Hall & Gardens in Durham
City). He was ordained a priest there in 1798, and remained as a professor until 1803, when the pastoral phase of his career began.
During the period of
Vicar Apostolic and presided over "missions" in his jurisdiction. Rev. John Lund (1733–1812), pastor to the Haydock family's home mission at Cottam, was sceptical of young George's prospects for pastoral work, once claiming he and his brother Thomas "were chiefly in quest of an easy genteel life".[2] However, the new priest would quickly prove his mettle, dedicating his career to serve in some of the poorest missions in England. His first assignment was at Ugthorpe, Yorkshire
, a poor rural mission, referred to as "Purgatory". Despite the legal disabilities of Catholics during this time, the Haydock family had been resourceful enough to retain a measure of local influence and wealth. Although George Leo was the youngest son, he and his older sister Elizabeth appear to have been entrusted with handling the family finances. He demonstrated considerable proficiency in this regard, acquiring investment properties in the areas where he served as pastor as we will see below. He thus had independent sources of income which he often used to subsidize the poor missions he served.
The Mission at Ugthorpe
ca. 1868: a quarto edition by P. O'Shea of New York. Some copies appeared in large (Imperial) quarto. This obscure edition features an abridged version of the commentary.
ca. 1874–1878: a large (Imperial) quarto edition by Virtue and Company Limited, of London. In this edition, two converts from the
Collier's Weekly
magazine, appeared ca. 1884. British editions remained in print until 1910.
1988: a quarto reproduction of the New Testament portion of the ca. 1853 (George Henry) edition supra by Catholic Treasures, Monrovia, California.
1992: a quarto reproduction of an 1859 reprint of the Edward Dunigan and Brother edition supra by Catholic Treasures, Monrovia, California. This edition has been reissued in 2000, 2006, and remains in print.
1999: a CD entitled Douay Bible 99 issued by Catholic Software of Murray, KY, featuring text and commentary that can be displayed on a computer in a split-screen format.
Early American Haydock Quarto Bible
Beginning with the ca. 1874–1878 (Virtue and Company) edition, title pages to the New Testament sections incorrectly credit Father Haydock with the New Testament commentary. For unclear reasons Thomas Haydock wanted Benedict Rayment's contribution kept secret, so it was never mentioned, even in the earliest editions. Therefore, it was forgotten over the years. This error also occurs on the later printings of the ca. 1853 (George Henry) edition.
The Haydock name became so popular and so closely associated with English Catholic Bibles in the 19th century that at least one publisher ca. 1886 "pirated" it for an edition that included only the standard Challoner annotations by adding the statement to the spine of his edition, Challoner's Notes and Other Important Features of the Haydock Bible. During the 1940s and 1950s, some "pocket" editions of the Catholic New Testament (usually referred to as the Rheims Testament when published separately) appeared, erroneously crediting "Canon Haydock" with the annotations.
Other published works
Father Haydock's other publications are brief devotional works. These were so overshadowed by his edition of the Bible and are now so rare, that they are often overlooked. However, modern historian Michael A. Mullett has pointed out they were a significant part of a liturgical renewal taking place among the growing Catholic recusant population on the verge of winning Emancipation. Haydock also wrote lengthier works paraphrasing the Psalms and Canticles of the Roman Office and began a series of Biblical Disquisitions intended as a supplement to his Bible. Regretfully, these were never published, probably due to the erratic fortunes of his brother, Thomas.
Prayers before and after Mass, Proper for Country Congregations, 1822
A Key to the Roman Catholic Office; Briefly Shewing the Falsehood of Fox's Martyrology, the Invocation of Saints, &c., Not Idolatrous; the Meaning of the Litanies, &c. The Kalendar: Containing a Short Account of the Chief Saints: Their Titles, Countries, & the Year of Their Happy Death: with a Variety of Prayers, etc. etc., 1823
A Collection of Catholic Hymns, 1823
A New Collection of Catholic Psalms, Hymns, Motettos, Anthems, and Doxologies. 1823
The Method of Sanctifying the Sabbath Days at Whitby, Scarborough, &c., The Second Edition, with Various Additional Instructions, by the Rev. George Leo Haydock, 1824
His publications also include an 1809 table entitled The Tree of Life, depicting a summary of Church history from Adam to the current time.
Portrait and drawings
Portrait and copies of Haydock's drawings are provided by Simon Nuttall, a descendant of the Gillow family (Gillows of Lancaster and London) of Catholic Recusants, who kindly gave permission for their reproduction.
See also
Douay-Rheims Bible
Roman Catholicism in Great Britain
(The Eighteenth Century & The Catholic Revival in the Nineteenth Century)
Gooch, Leo, [ed.], The Revival of English Catholicism: The Banister-Rutter Correspondence 1777-1807, North West Catholic History Society, Wigan, 1995.
Harris, P. R. [ed.], Douai College Documents 1639–1794, 1972
Herbert, A.S., Historical Catalogue of Printed Editions of the English Bible 1525–1961, 1968
Lingard, Rev. John, A Review of Certain Anti-Catholic Publications,J. Booker, London, 1813.
McAniff, M., Rev., Centenary History of St. Anne’s Church, Ugthorpe, 1955.
Mullett, Michael A., The End Crowns the Work; George Leo Haydock 1774–1849, North West Catholic History Society, Wigan, 2012.
O'Callaghan, E. B., A List of Editions of the Holy Scriptures and Parts Thereof, Printed in America Previous to 1860, Albany, 1861.
O'Hanlon, D. et al., Old Cottam Hall An Archaeological Survey, Carnegie Press, Preston, 1985
Ohlhausen, Sidney K.:
"An Annotated Bibliography of Books in which Thomas Haydock of Manchester and Dublin Appears as Printer, Publisher, or Bookseller," Parts I & II, North West Catholic History, Vols. XLIII (2016) & XLIV (2017).
Walker, J. A., The History of Penrith, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time… Penrith: B.T. Sweeten, Market-Place; London: Whittaker & Co., 1858.
Walsh, Rev. Thomas, & Taylor, Ron, "The Haydock Registers: A Picture of Young Catholics in Penrith 1841–1851", North West Catholic History, 2005
Ward, Bernard
, The Dawn of the Catholic Revival in England 1781–1803, 2 vols., 1909